'We were fined £100 each even though the signs were hidden': Don’t go mad if you get a parking ticket - here's how to beat it

The modern scourge of motoring is finding somewhere to park – even when paying through the nose for the privilege.

And after grabbing that space you can still get targeted by an overzealous attendant. We explain how to fight the charges.

Demands: Christine Lemon, left, and Susan Harris went to appeal and won because signs were hidden

WE BOTH GOT FINED £100 YET THE SIGNS WERE HIDDEN

Christine Lemon, 65, and her friend Susan Harris, 54, left their vehicles in a local car park when they met for coffee and a browse around the shops a year ago.

A week later they each received £100 demands in the post from private car parking firm Parking Eye for overstaying by more than two hours.

Christine, a retired primary school teacher from Southampton, says: ‘I was gobsmacked. We could see no signs telling us of any restrictions on how long we might be able to park there. It seemed a horrible mistake. I ignored the demand.’

Unfortunately for Christine and her friend, this was not the end of the matter.

The firm sent five separate demands followed by two from a debt recovery firm. The debt collectors had no powers to act as no court order had been made.

Christine adds: ‘We stood firm. But it was probably wrong to simply bin the letters as after six months the demand including costs had gone up to £175 each.’

Finally, the case was heard by Parking on Private Land Appeals and they won because the parking signs were obscured behind trees and signage wording was ambiguous.

A Parking Eye spokeswoman says: ‘Car park users enter into a contract to pay the appropriate amount for the duration of their visit. ‘We understand genuine mistakes are sometimes made and encourage people to appeal if they feel there are mitigating circumstances.’

Councils and private car parking firms
are expected to rake in £3 billion this year from motorists looking
for a space – much of it from fines and unfair charges.

An astonishing 24 million parking tickets are predicted to be slapped on windscreens this year – that’s 46 a minute.

Yet despite the vast majority of drivers paying fines and charges through gritted teeth, those that dare to fight are likely to win.

Rupert Lipton, managing director of campaign group National Motorists Action Group, and a lawyer at Briefcase Law, says: ‘Motorists are often ripped off by confidence tricksters. Councils and private parking firms are happy to slap motorists with penalty notices and charges knowing full well that most pay up as it seems too much bother to fight. It really is a dirty game.’

Under The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, landowners can hire third-party parking attendants to hand out charges, though they can no longer clamp.

What these private firms do not advertise is that they are not legally allowed to fine or penalise drivers for misusing private land – they can only impose a charge for potential losses or damages.

And under the 1999 Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations, the sum they demand must be deemed ‘fair and reasonable.’ This means you can stand firm against rogue firms demanding £100 or more in parking charges, and they are unlikely to take you to court as the costs of doing so usually outweigh the potential gains.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing
Agency earns an estimated £10 million a year by selling personal data to
parking companies, charging £2.50 a time. But only those companies
signed up to the British Parking Association can get these details.

Others
should not know your name or where you live so they will find it
difficult to chase you if you do not pay your parking ticket.

Lipton
says: ‘If private firms want to play dirty, then why not put them to
the sword of the law they have threatened you with? Terms must be clear
and fair. If any signs are hidden, confusing or too small then a
contract is not valid. Do your homework and fight back.’

But
Jeanette Miller, managing director at Geoffrey Miller Solicitors,
warns: ‘It is rarely worth the expense of paying a lawyer to fight a
case and if you go it alone you must expect it to be a time consuming
process taking up to ten hours to prepare.

‘This
can involve revisiting a site, taking photos, writing numerous letters
explaining why a claim should be thrown out, and also attending court
hearings. But if you are prepared to face all this then hopefully you
should win.’

. . . HOW TO FIGHT THEM

If
you are parked on private land and get a parking charge notice the
first thing to do is contact the company that issued it, explaining why
it should be thrown out.

If
the firm is not a member of the BPA it should not be able to obtain
your registered details from the DVLA. Gather evidence – such as photos
of obscure signage – and then simply sit tight waiting to see if it
follows up on the demand. Despite the tough talk, typically with a
threat to take you to court, this action costs a firm money and it will
be hard to find you. Fewer than one in 20 cases goes to court.

If
the car parking company is a member of the BPA it is signed up to the
independent body Parking on Private Land Appeals. Parking firms must pay
£27 for every appeal made through this service but it costs you
nothing, apart from time preparing for the case. Campaigners such as the
National Motorists Action Group, AppealNow and Parking Prankster can
offer advice to help you win.

If
Parking on Private Land Appeals does not uphold your complaint its
decision is not binding. You can pay up and take the charge on the chin
if the parking infringement was your fault, or wait to see if the firm
takes you to court.There are calls for an independent ombudsman to be set up, much like the Financial Services Ombudsman Service.

Smart: Student Karina Barulina rents an off-road parking space for £130 a month when she goes to college in London

I PAY TO PARK ON SOMEONE ELSE'S DRIVE TO SAVE MONEY

Motorists can avoid being ripped off by excessive car park fees and penalties – and save money – by paying to use someone’s private driveway.

Companies such as ParkatmyHouse offer details of more than 50,000 homeowners who regularly rent out their driveways as parking spaces.

Prices charged vary from £1.50 to £20 a day but they will usually work out far cheaper than council and private car parks.

Student Karina Barulina, 18, from Hammersmith in West London, uses the ParkatmyHouse website to find a place to park her Audi after she has driven eight miles to her sixth-form college in Marylebone, Central London.

She says: ‘Public car parks can charge £30 just to stay for five hours. But I now pay £130 a month for the freedom of an off-road parking spot without fear of being charged extra.’

ParkatmyHouse takes a 15 per cent cut of income paid to homeowners renting out their driveway. Bookings can be made on the internet with payments via debit or credit card, or by PayPal.

Website Parkopedia offers a free service that lists private driveway parking offers in your area as well as private and public car parks and their charges.

COUNCIL PARKING TICKETS

Councils
generated £350 million in revenue from parking fines last year,
according to the Department for Communities and Local Government. This
bumper windfall was just from cars parked on the road. It does not
include the huge number of motorists also fined in public car parks.

Research
by insurer LV= shows the total number of penalty charge notices issued
last year – different from parking charge notices – was almost
11 million, costing motorists a total of £30 million a month.

Despite
the majority of drivers paying up straight away, typically handing over
£60 instead of the full £120 fine, most of those fighting their corner
won final appeals.

This helps explain why parking
attendants think it is worth using underhand antics such as waiting for
parking times to expire then immediately slapping a ticket on a
windscreen.

Miller says: ‘Lots of parking tickets are
successfully challenged as motorists are hit with fines in the hope they
won’t fight back. But you must be well prepared if you want to contest a
fine.'

She says you need to collect evidence immediately to fight your case. Use a camera – one on a smartphone will do – to take photos of the car, signage, parking bay markings and meter, focusing on anything unclear or misleading. If possible take witness statements at the scene and write down any mitigating circumstances, for example if the car broke down or you were ill. In case of sickness it is also worth getting a doctor’s certificate.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association says: ‘Any surplus income from charges and fines goes on essential transport projects, bringing roads up to scratch.’

. . . HOW TO FIGHT THEM

Parking fees are typically halved if the driver pays in 14 days. This ploy exploits a sense of panic most motorists feel when issued with a ticket – so they pay straight away. Critics also see it as a bribe to pay immediately.

Contact the council within this initial 14-day period and explain why you think the penalty is invalid.

It the council will not budge it will issue a formal letter – a ‘notice to owner’. You then have a further 28 days to explain why you should not pay.

Along with a final rejection letter the council must also send you an appeal notice form to be returned to an independent adjudicator known as the Traffic Penalty Tribunal in England and Wales. In London it is called the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service, while in Scotland you go to the Scottish Parking Appeals Service. This is the last chance – but again it is worth fighting. Make your appeal within 28 days. Fail at this stage and you must then pay.

WHERE YOU CAN'T BE CLAMPED

Under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 it is a criminal offence for private landowners to clamp or tow your vehicle away. Exceptions are airports, train stations or ports. If you are clamped in any other place refuse to pay and report the firm to the police.

However, another of the controversial parking charges that critics believe should also be outlawed is still in force – at hospitals.

NHS hospitals in England rake in more than £200 million a year from car parks, with some enjoying annual revenue of £2 million. Hospital car parks in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are free.

Robert Gill of healthcare charity The Patients Association says: ‘It penalises those most in need of treatment, such as cancer patients regularly getting chemotherapy, or those seeking emergency treatment.’